The Democrats on their first night: Refraining from McCain attacks was a good idea

It was fascinating to watch the first night of the Democratic National Convention. I watched the proceedings on CNN. One of CNN's more thoughtful analysts is Jeffrey Toobin. At the conclusion of both Ted Kennedy's (left) and Michelle Obama's speeches, Toobin complained that the Democrats had not spent enough time attacking their Republican opponent, John McCain. Democrat (and Clinton) pit bull was more vocal in criticizing campaign organizer for not enough “red meat” in their opening evening.

I disagree — and my disagreement is based on my experience watching the 2006 Canadian election unfold.

In late 2005, my Canadian readers will recall, the Liberal government was on its last legs and its chief opponent, the Conservatives had, in the Gomery Commission's conclusions, one of the biggest bats a challenger to a government has ever had and most pundits on Parliament Hill expected the Conservatives to be merciless in beating the Liberals with that bat during the campaign that ran from December, 2005 and January, 2006.

But, lo and behold, when Stephen Harper began campaigning, he hardly mentioned the Liberals. Instead, he laid out his party's platform and gave voters a reason to vote for him and his party. I remember speaking to some Conservative strategists at the time and they felt that most Canadian voters already knew about all the perceived defects of the Liberals. Their job was to sell their guy, to make sure that Canadians not only felt good about throwing out the Liberals but also good about voting in the Conservative pretender.

The Democrats who organized tonight's program in Denver seemed to understand the same point that Conservatives in Canada understood about their opponents, the Liberals, in late 2005. Democratic Party organizers must, at this point in the election cycle, know that many of their potential voters in America already understand that George Bush's presidency has been a disaster and that John McCain is Bush's heir. Just as Stephen Harper felt he didn't need to tell Canadians about the sins of his opponent, the Democrats don't always need to be bashing McCain. Instead, Democrats, like the Conservatives three years ago, need to build a positive narrative, telling voters, 'Ok: We know why you want to vote against our opponent. Now let us tell you why  you should vote for our guy.” Democrats, particularly those who backed Hilary Clinton and have yet to endorse Obama, needed to hear that narrative. (Indeed, George Stephanopoulos, on ABC's Sunday morning talkie This Week with George S. yesterday, said Obama's upside is all within the Democratic Party. George S. noted that just 79 per cent of registered Democrats support Obama. Those registered Democrats, not Independents or dissatisfied Republicans, are Obama's low-hanging electoral fruit. “If he does one thing in this convention, if he unifies the Democratic Party, he'll have a twelve-point lead!). My point is that Democrats and Independents already have lots of reasons not to vote Republican. Now they need to get comfortable voting for the Democratic nomineee and his family. CNN reporter John King (the best political report on television, for my money) was the lone CNN voice to get that idea. As he said, Democrats “came into tonight with one simple goal: For Americans to wake up tomorrow morning and say, 'You know what? They're a lot more like us than I thought they were.'” That was what tonight's Democratic evening was all about. There will be plenty of time and plenty of opportunities to take shots at John McCain. This was the only night to get to know the Obamas.